There is multitude of different types of coolers and cooler inserts for keeping food and beverages cool, or warm, until such items are consumed. These coolers and inserts come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Some coolers have hard outer and inner shells, some have soft outer and inner shells, and some are simply have a nylon fabric serving as the covering for the cooler itself or for individual packages of refrigerant material. Similarly, cooler inserts come in variety of shapes and sizes. Some cooler inserts have a hard outer shell, some cooler inserts package their refrigerant material inside a soft flexible plastic covering, and some require the user to fill the cooler insert with a refrigerant material of some kind, generally water, before use.
In order to maintain the temperature within the beverage/food compartment of a cooler, some type of insulating material is disposed between the outer and the inner shells of the cooler. One of the most common insulating materials used in these types of coolers is a high density foam material which is generally adequate at maintaining a cool or warm temperature within the cooler. Some of the most common means to cool the interior of most generic coolers include blocks of ices, cubed ice, crushed ice, cold water, and cooled or frozen individual packages of refrigerant. These and other methods utilized to cool the interior of a cooler, as well as the use of some cooler inserts, often present undesirable results.
The use of ice blocks or ice cubes as a coolant, as well as the use of hard-shelled cooler inserts, limits the number and manner in which beverages or food items can be arranged within the cooler resulting in an inefficient use of the cooler's interior space. Although crushed ice can be manipulated to some extent within a cooler's interior, there remains space between the crushed ice particles which cannot be used for more efficient packing of beverages or food. Although the use of cooler inserts with refrigerant packaged in a soft plastic covering provides some limited flexibility with regard to the interior space of a cooler, the positioning of these cooler inserts may shift during transportation of the cooler. Regardless of which form of ice is used as a coolant, as the ice melts undesired consequences can occur. As ice melts, the position and arrangement of the beverages or food items within the cooler will shift in the resulting ice water. Retrieving beverages by hand from melted ice water can be unpleasant due to the cold temperature of the water as well as its wetness if a person prefers or needs to maintain dry hands. The possibility of contaminating food items and beverages also exits with melted ice water should the water be able to get inside the packaging of such items. If using ice or cold water as a refrigerant, it can become contaminated by dirt or other debris which in turn may contaminate the beverages or food items within the cooler. Also, depending on the nature of the contaminated ice, its disposal may have an undesired environmental impact or health risk. Additionally, the contaminated ice or cold water will need to be replaced which may or may not be possible if a source for more ice or cold water is not available. Furthermore, often when ice is used as a coolant it will be necessary to purchase new ice once the ice has melted and discarded. The use of ice or cold water as a refrigerant will also result in the necessity of the cooler needing to be thoroughly cleaned after each use. The aforementioned issues related to the use of ice and cold water as a refrigerant also exits with the refrigerants used for cooler inserts. For example, in the event the integrity of the cooler insert exterior become damaged and allow its refrigerant to leak into a cooler's interior, the items within the cooler may become spoiled or contaminated, disposal of the refrigerant may contaminate the environment and the person using the cooler, and a thorough cleaning of the cooler becomes necessary.
Accordingly, there remains room for improvement and variation within the art.